Strong earthquake hits China's Sichuan province

STORY: The epicenter was at Luding, a town in the mountains about 140 miles southwest of Sichuan's capital Chengdu, where the tremor was also felt, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

No damage at dam and hydropower stations within 31 miles of the epicenter was reported.

Earthquakes are common in Sichuan, a southwestern province, especially in its mountains in the west, a tectonically active area along the eastern boundary of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.